Bibcode
Dannerbauer, H.; Harrington, K.; Díaz-Sánchez, A.; Iglesias-Groth, S.; Rebolo, R.; Genova-Santos, R. T.; Krips, M.
Bibliographical reference
The Astronomical Journal, Volume 158, Issue 1, article id. 34, 11 pp. (2019).
Advertised on:
7
2019
Citations
30
Refereed citations
27
Description
We report the very bright detection of cold molecular gas with the IRAM
NOEMA interferometer of the strongly lensed source WISE
J132934.18+224327.3 at z = 2.04, the so-called Cosmic Eyebrow. This
source has a similar spectral energy distribution from optical-mid/IR to
submillimeter/radio but significantly higher fluxes than the well-known
lensed SMG SMMJ 2135, the Cosmic Eyelash at z = 2.3. The interferometric
observations unambiguously identify the location of the molecular line
emission in two components, component CO32-A with
{I}CO(3-2)}=52.2+/- 0.9 Jy km s‑1 and
component CO32-B with {I}CO(3-2)}=15.7+/- 0.7 Jy km
s‑1. Thus, our NOEMA observations of the CO(3‑2)
transition confirm the SMG-nature of WISE J132934.18+224327.3, resulting
in the brightest CO(3‑2) detection ever of an SMG. In addition, we
present follow-up observations of the brighter component with the Green
Bank Telescope (CO(1‑0) transition) and IRAM 30 m telescope
(CO(4‑3) and [C I](1‑0) transitions). The star formation
efficiency of ∼100 L ⊙/(K km s‑1
pc2) is at the overlap region between merger-triggered and
disk-like star formation activity and the lowest seen for lensed dusty
star-forming galaxies. The determined gas depletion time ∼60 Myr,
intrinsic infrared star formation SFRIR ≈ 2000 M
⊙ yr‑1, and gas fraction M
mol/M * = 0.44 indicate a
starburst/merger-triggered star formation. The obtained data of the cold
ISM—from CO(1‑0) and dust continuum—indicates a gas
mass μM mol ∼ 15 × 1011 M
⊙ for component CO32-A. Its unseen brightness offers us
the opportunity to establish the Cosmic Eyebrow as a new reference
source at z = 2 for galaxy evolution.
Related projects
Molecular Gas and Dust in Galaxies Across Cosmic Time
Two of the most fundamental questions in astrophysics are the conversion of molecular gas into stars and how this physical process is a function of environments on all scales, ranging from planetary systems, stellar clusters, galaxies to galaxy clusters. The main goal of this internal project is to get insight into the formation and evolution of
Helmut
Dannerbauer